Treasure Hunt
by teeney8040
Summary: Totally AU!  Rachel, Finn, Brittany and Kurt find a treasure map in Rachel's grandmother's house and decide to follow it.  Appearances by several glee characters!  Faberry eventually...
1. Chapter 1

A.N. Hey guys! This is something totally new that I've been working on for a while. I had to get out of the middle of the Faberry/Pezberry war that was going on inside one of my other stories and write something different for a bit…it was a bit intense over there.

Anyways, this one is totally AU. No Glee, no Ohio…the gang lives in some coastal town on the East Coast (don't ask which, because I don't know and it really doesn't matter, pick one) and they work at a theater and they're probably all mid-twenties by now and Finn and Brittany are a bit smarter here than the show, but still lovably ditzy. This chapter is intro stuff and it's a little choppy. The real fun will begin in the next but I had to do this one for a reason.

Enjoy!

**XX**

Rachel Berry stood in the cemetery flanked by her three best friends in the world, Finn Hudson, Kurt Hummel and Brittany Pierce. She stood quieter and stiller than anyone who knew her had ever seen her. Her eyes focused on the name chiseled into the smooth stone of the grave marker. Aria Alexander. Her grandmother.

People around them began to quietly file out of the graveyard and soon it was just the four of them alone.

"You okay, Rach?" Finn asked, placing a hand on her back.

She nodded, her eyes misty and voice thick. "That was the last of my family."

"You still have us," Kurt reminded her gently.

A ghost of a smile found her lips. "I know, Kurt. You know what I mean."

"I do," he replied.

"You're still staying with me tonight, right?" Rachel asked Brittany.

The blonde nodded and looped her arm through Rachel's and grasped her hand, squeezing gently. "Of course."

"You too, Finn?" she asked.

"Absolutely," he told her.

Will Schuester, who managed the theater where they all worked, approached and took Rachel's other hand. "Rachel, I'm very sorry about your loss."

"Thanks, Will," she replied with a sad smile.

"If there's anything we can do at the theater, let me know," he told her sincerely.

"Thank you," she told him.

"We'll see you back at the theater in a few days?" he asked. She nodded and he turned his attention to the rest of them. "I'll see the rest of you on Monday."

"Bye, Will," Brittany told him with a wave.

"Wait, so we don't get a few days to deal with this too?" Finn asked.

Will shot him a pointed look, a hint of a smile on his face. "See you Monday, Finn."

Finn shrugged. "It was worth a shot."

Kurt suddenly spotted Rachel's boyfriend, Jesse St. James, leaning against her car texting. He looks over his sunglasses at a girl passing by and gave her a flirty smile. Kurt rolled his eyes. "What about your d-bag boyfriend? Is he coming over too?"

"For a while," Rachel told him, not even having the energy to scold him for the comment.

"Fantastic," Kurt replied sarcastically.

"Okay, I'm going to run home and change and then I'll head back to your place, Rach," Finn told her.

Rachel nodded. "Thanks, Finn." She sighed. "I think I'll just see you guys back at the house. I want to stay here with her for a while."

"Take all the time you need," Kurt said softly, kissing her cheek. He made his way over to his boyfriend, Blaine, and the pair headed off hand-in-hand.

"See you in a bit, Ray." Brittany kissed her forehead. She stood at the foot of the grave for a moment before she kissed her fingers and pressed them to the grave marker.

Rachel waited until she was alone before taking a seat in the grass, unable to take her eyes off the grave maker with her grandmother's name on it.

**XX**

"I think we should see other people," Jesse told her two hours later, looking rather bored, checking his cell phone every few seconds.

Rachel's eyes narrowed. "Tell me you're joking."

"Come on, Rachel, don't make this any harder than it needs to be," he sighed with a roll of his eyes.

"You're dumping me two hours after I buried my grandmother?" she demanded.

"You barely knew her," he argued back. He sighed heavily and began texting someone on his phone

"I lived with her for ten years you jerk," Rachel shouted, her anger and frustration getting the better of her. She slapped the phone from his hands and set him with a glare.

"Whatever," he sighed, glaring back as he bent to grab his phone. "I just can't do this anymore."

"You are such an ass," she sighed.

"Sorry, babe," he replied with a shrug. He got up and approached her. "Gotta run. See ya around."

"I really hope not," she grumbled.

He tried to kiss her on the top of the head and she smacked him.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"What was that for?" she asked incredulously. "Just get out."

Rachel waited until the door shut before she flopped back into the couch and grabbed her cell phone, dialing a familiar number. "Could this week get any worse?"

**XX**

"Rachel, I hate to tell you this but we're going to have to let you go," Will told her a few days later.

Her mouth dropped open and she gaped at him. "I know I was out for a few days last week but my grandmother died. You were at her funeral."

He shook his head. "It has nothing to do with that, Rachel. We're under new ownership and they're bringing in some of their own people."

"This is unacceptable," she told him, the pitch of her voice rising. "I'll contact the ACLU."

He sighed, having heard the speech before. "Rachel."

She opened her mouth to continue her rant but instead flopped back down in her chair, not exactly having the energy to fight him over it. "If anything opens up in the future?"

He nodded, smiling. "You'll be the first to know."

"Thanks." She stood up and headed for the door.

"Rachel?" he called before she could leave, causing her to turn. "Send in Kurt on your way out please."

She nodded and left the office.

An hour later Rachel, Brittany, Finn and Kurt all walked through the parking lot of the theater with boxes in their arms filled with the things from their desks.

"Well this sucks," Brittany assessed.

"I was this close to getting a date with Quinn in design, too," Finn grumbled holding up his hand, his forefinger and thumb a breath apart.

"Quinn in design is gay," Kurt remarked.

Finn frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Kurt assured him with a nod of his head.

Finn frowned deeper, his face showing his disappointment.

"I say we go to the strip club," Brittany suggested.

Rachel and Finn exchanged a look, both shrugging.

Kurt's face soured. "May I suggest getting terribly drunk instead? Naked girls really don't do it for me."

Rachel sighed. "Actually, I really shouldn't. I have to start cleaning out my grandmother's house if I'm ever going to sell it."

"You have to do that tonight?" Brittany asked, looking rather bummed out. She set Rachel with a pout.

"I have to at least get started," Rachel reasoned, smiling and reaching out to poke Brittany in the cheek gently to get her to quit pouting. "Especially now that we all find ourselves unemployed."

"We'll help," Finn told her with a nod.

"I'll get the vodka and we'll meet you there," Kurt added.

Rachel smiled appreciatively at them. "Thank you." She walked silently for a few moments. "One day I'm opening my own theater."

"Will you hire me?" Brittany asked hopefully.

Rachel giggled. "Of course. You're the best dancer I know."

"What about us?" Kurt asked, motioning between himself and Finn.

Rachel grinned. "You guys, too."

Brittany smiled and sighed, linking her arm through Rachel's and leaning her head on her shorter friend's shoulder as they walked.

**XX**

Later that night found Rachel, Brittany, Finn and Kurt sitting in the attic drinking and sorting through some of Rachel's grandmother's things. They were all a little tipsy and seemed to find it increasingly funny to try on various articles of clothing and hats around them.

Rachel set her drink down and opened up an old wooden chest. She started sorting through the contents as Brittany opened up an old photo album that had been propped up next to the chest and she flipped through the pictures.

Rachel pulled out old clothes and folders filled with old papers before she reached the bottom and spotted an old leather-bound journal. Her curiosity was piqued and she reached for it, pulling the leather straps keeping it closed, and she opened the front cover. Inside of the cover, branded into the leather, was the name _Captain John Blackbeard_.

"John Blackbeard," she whispered, running her fingertips over the brand.

"What?" Kurt asked, looking up from another large trunk across the room. His face was flushed from the alcohol and he was smiling for some reason only known to him.

Rachel held up the journal. "I just found this and it has the name John Blackbeard branded in the cover."

"The pirate?" Finn asked.

Rachel shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Arrg!" Brittany exclaimed suddenly.

Rachel and Brittany both burst into laughter at this. They were obviously all quickly moving past tipsy and moving into drunk.

"What's in it?" Finn asked. He grew increasingly curious. He'd always been very into pirate tales and he had recognized the name immediately.

Rachel opened the journal and flipped to a random page where worn, faded writing scrawled over half the page and she read aloud. "If I believed in fate, I'd think it was at work crossing my path with the woman of my dreams. Princess Aria was on the docks with her ladies and cousin and she never looked more beautiful. I watched from the deck of my ship as she strolled the docks, her hair billowing in the wind, a smile lighting her face. I want nothing more than to have her notice me, but my ship is near ruins and I know she'd never notice it but to laugh. I must continue my search for gold. Perhaps fixing my ship will catch her attention. For her I'd do anything. Go to any length, pay any price."

"Creepy," Kurt noted, his nose scrunched slightly.

"I think it's sweet," Rachel sighed.

"You would," Kurt shot back, teetering in place slightly, one of his eyes nearly shut in his drunkenness.

"Aria," Finn pondered aloud. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"It was my grandmother's name," Rachel reminded him.

"Well Blackbeard was a pretty gnarly pirate along the coast near here in the 40's," Finn told them, glad for once that he had some exclusive knowledge that could help in a situation. "He was pretty ruthless and he looted and horded jewels and gold until he died. They say it was never found."

"All for a girl," Kurt sighed. "It's always for a girl."

"So that's, like, millions waiting to be found, right?" Brittany asked.

"Millions?" Rachel asked, turning her gaze to Finn.

He pondered a moment before shrugging. "If everything that I've heard about him is true, it could be a lot of money."

Rachel couldn't explain the flutter of something inside her chest at that particular thought. She'd never been particularly materialistic but had to admit that without a job, she could certainly use a pouch full of diamonds like the ones the kids in the Goonies movie had found. She could thank Finn for that particular pop-culture knowledge. It was his favorite movie and they watched it together at least once a month. A pouch of diamonds would open her a theater of her own for sure.

As her mind wandered, Rachel absently flipped the pages of the journal until she realized what she was looking at. One particular page had several landmarks with scrawling words across the page like: _27 paces north, 23 west_.

Her curiosity was suddenly piqued and she flipped a few more pages, noting more landmarks and her heart stuttered in her chest when she reached the last page to find a large red 'X' in the middle of the page.

"Hey, guys, look at this," she requested quietly. She had a feeling she was looking at something amazing, but had to be sure her eyes weren't deceiving her.

"What's up?" Finn asked, reaching for the book. The others gathered around him and peered at the book in his hands.

"Is this really what I think it is?" Kurt asked, pointing at the book.

"Pirate Cooking for Dummies?" Brittany asked absently. She was hungry.

"It's a map," Rachel breathed.

"A treasure map," Finn agreed, his eyes snapping up to meet hers, shining and wide. He pointed to the book excitedly. "It's not far from here! This is our beach on the map!"

"He must have left it for her," Rachel said excitedly. "So she could find his treasure and fall in love with him."

"A treasure map?" Kurt asked skeptically. "Really?"

"Why not?" Finn asked.

"Why would Rachel's grandmother have some random pirate's treasure map in her attic?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. "It's probably…"

"A treasure map," Finn insisted, holding the book out for Kurt to see as if that would convince him he was right.

"A fake," Kurt corrected.

"Does it have an 'X'?" Brittany asked. "X always marks the spot on real treasure maps."

"In cartoons maybe," Kurt replied.

"The dates actually do kind of make sense," Rachel mused. "If he was around in the 40's that would make my grandmother around 20 at the time. Maybe my grandmother is the Aria he was writing about."

"Wasn't his Aria a princess?" Kurt asked, still unwilling to believe what his friends were thinking.

"Your grandmother was a princess?" Brittany asked, getting excited suddenly. "Did she have a crown?"

Rachel suddenly deflated, the one hole in their theory suddenly ripping wide open. "Not that I was aware of."

Finn pulled his laptop out of his bag and sat down on one of the old chests in the room, setting the journal on his left side as he tapped on the keys. "What was her maiden name?"

"Alexander," Rachel told him, wondering what he was doing.

"You're wasting your time, Finn," Kurt insisted.

"Let's see," Finn mumbled as he scanned a page. "Here it is. Aria Alexander. Dude, she was a princess."

"Yay!" Brittany exclaimed.

The others ignored her drunken outburst and leaned over Finn again.

"He was a descendent of the royal family of the Netherlands," he read.

"How do you even know it's her?" Kurt asked. "I'm sure there is more than one Aria Alexander in the universe."

"It is her," Brittany insisted, pointing to the screen and holding up the photo album that she'd been flipping through earlier. "There's a picture of her and it's the same one that's in this book."

"How did I not know any of this?" Rachel wondered softly, the hurt that her grandmother had kept something this huge from her currently outweighing the excitement of a potential treasure map in her attic. "And what does that make me?"

"It does explain why she wanted you to learn Netherland instead of Spanish in high school," Finn reasoned.

"Dutch," Kurt corrected with a little nod of his head and a pat on Finn's shoulder.

"And what was she even doing here if she was a princess of the Netherlands?" Rachel continued.

"Who cares?" Brittany wondered suddenly, causing everyone to stop and stare at her. She gave them all a look like they were the ones missing the punch line of this particular joke, not her for once. "We have a treasure map. We should follow it."

"No way," Kurt immediately responded.

"Kurt, come on," Rachel urged, tugging on his sleeve.

"I'm totally in." Finn could hardly contain his excitement at this.

"No," Kurt answered again.

"Why not, Kurt?" Rachel wondered. "Even if this map leads us absolutely nowhere it could be a fun day."

"Yeah, Kurt," Brittany agreed.

"Come to the dark side," Rachel joked, smiling and nodding as if her nodding would somehow further convince him to nod along with her. "We have cookies."

"He likes pie," Brittany corrected.

"We have pie too," Rachel grinned at him.

"Pie sounds good," Finn suddenly noted, his brow scrunching in thought and his hand resting on his belly.

"I know, right?" Brittany asked, holding her hand up for a high-five.

Finn slapped her hand enthusiastically and poked Kurt in the shoulder. "Come on, Kurt. It's just one day."

"Besides, it's not as if we have to go to work tomorrow," Rachel reminded him.

"We're gonna need supplies," Brittany told them thoughtfully.

"Totally," Finn agreed. "Lanterns, rope, shovels, a compass."

"My iphone has a compass," Brittany offered excitedly.

Finn smiled. "Well that's one down."

"Are you guys really serious about this?" Kurt asked with a sigh.

"Come on, Kurt," Rachel pleaded, her puppy-dog eyes suddenly making an appearance. "My grandmother just died and Jesse dumped me and I lost my job. Please?"

"You did not just go there," Kurt grumbled, knowing he had to give in now.

Rachel smirked, knowing she'd won. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Your perfectly perfect life will still be here when you get back," Finn reminded him.

"Plus we might be super rich," Brittany reminded him.

"That's a plus," Kurt mumbled, trying to sound nonchalant but failing miserably.

"Please?" Rachel begged once more.

"Fine," Kurt relented, smiling in spite of himself when the other three cheered around him.

"Let's go out for supplies now so we can leave first thing tomorrow," Brittany insisted excitedly.

"Is anyone sober enough to drive?" Finn asked, looking around at his best friends.

"Oh no," Rachel insisted with a giggle as Brittany leaned into her.

Finn looks around and Kurt shakes his head as well. "I guess we're walking.

"Arrg!" Brittany exclaimed again as they headed for the door, her arm looped through Rachel's for support as the two of them burst into giggles again. "I'm so getting an eye patch."

The attic is silent again save for the sounds of giggles floating back up the stairs.

**XX**

A.N. Like I said, it's a bit choppy at the beginning, but I just had to establish the intro relationships. A few of our other favorite glee kids will make an appearance in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought!


	2. Chapter 2

_Next part!_

**XX**

The group split up once they reached town and Rachel and Kurt walked along the sidewalk, both sobering slightly as they walked in the warm afternoon sun.

"Do you think Blaine would want to join us?" Rachel asked as her fingers danced along the top of a white-picket fence that stretched along the sidewalk next to them.

"Doubtful," Kurt replied with a shake of his head. "He'll have to work tomorrow anyways."

"That's too bad," Rachel sighed.

"He's going to think I'm crazy," Kurt told her with a smile.

"He'll be jealous," Rachel insisted, bumping her shoulder into his.

The pair walked quietly for a few blocks until they passed the sprawling outdoor patio of one of the more popular restaurants in town and they heard someone call out Kurt's name.

Kurt and Rachel both turned to see Quinn Fabray sitting at one of the tables outside alone sipping coffee.

"Hi, Kurt," she greeted, standing up to pull him into a hug.

"Hello, Quinn," he replied with an easy smile. He pointed to Rachel, being polite. "You know Rachel."

Quinn's eyes immediately grew guarded and she nodded, smiling tightly, but didn't say anything to the brunette girl. She turned back to Kurt, her eyes suddenly sympathetic. "I heard about you guys."

Kurt understood she was referring to them all losing their jobs. He shrugged, suddenly singing, "Ain't nothing going to break my stride." He winked, still a little tipsy, the song bringing a smile to his lips.

"Nobody's going to slow me down, oh no," Rachel finished instinctively, blushing when she remembered she was in mixed company. And with someone she didn't particularly care for. Well it wasn't as if she didn't like her, it was just…complicated.

Quinn's eyes shot to Rachel immediately and she stood there staring, an unreadable expression on her face. She turned back to Kurt and placed a hand on his arm. "You'll bounce back."

He suddenly realized she was out and about in the middle of the day and he frowned. "They didn't get you too, did they?"

She shook her head. "No, actually I'm here to meet the…" She trailed off and glanced at Rachel rather guiltily. "The new director."

Rachel's eyes narrowed and her mouth opened, but a gentle hand on her arm silenced her.

Quinn couldn't meet Rachel's eyes. She kept her gaze on Kurt. "What are you up to? If it was me, I'd be getting ridiculously drunk."

"Trust me, we're there." Kurt's eyes moved to Rachel for a moment only to find her subtly shaking her head, begging him silently to keep quiet about their plan. He smiled at the blonde. "We're gathering supplies for a treasure hunt actually."

Quinn burst out laughing at that until she noticed Rachel glaring at him, her face flushed red in a blush and Kurt looked rather sheepish. Her eyes got wide. "You're serious." She raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you, five, Kurt? Come out for drinks with us instead. Bring Blaine."

Kurt glanced at Rachel again, knowing his friend needed him more. "We're getting supplies. I can't."

"Yes you can," Quinn insisted. "You can play games another time."

"It's not a game," Kurt told her. "We found an old journal that belonged to this pirate, John Blackbeard, and we're going to see if we can find his treasure."

Quinn looked skeptical. "Uh-huh."

"I'm serious," Kurt insisted. "It turns out that Rachel's grandmother was a princess and she somehow got his journal and it has a map leading to his fortune. It could be millions."

Quinn studied him for a moment, her head tilting and her eyes growing serious. "You're not kidding."

"No." Kurt shook his head and before he could stop himself he added, "You should come with us."

Rachel was unable to hide the horror on her face as she stared at him and Quinn caught the look and grinned.

"Yeah," she said, her smile directed at Rachel this time. "Maybe I will."

"Great," Kurt replied, nudging Rachel silently to stop what had turned into a pout on her face. "We're meeting for breakfast in the morning at the pier. We'll be there at 8."

"Great," Quinn replied. "See you then."

Quinn turned and headed inside the restaurant and the moment she was out of sight Rachel smacked Kurt.

"Ow," he exclaimed, turning to her with a dirty look.

"What the hell was that?" Rachel asked, pointing to the door that Quinn had gone through.

Kurt shrugged. "Quinn is actually very nice once you get to know her."

"She's a bitch," Rachel told him plainly as they continued down the street.

Kurt shook his head. "She's a good friend of Blaine's and I've known her for long enough to know that she can be really sweet."

Rachel huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Maybe to you and your boyfriend she's really sweet, but to me she's a bitch."

"And I'm sure the fact that you've had a crush on her since you were twelve and she won't give you the time of day has nothing to do with your opinion of her," Kurt assessed.

Rachel scowled. "No, my opinion is based strictly on her actions."

Kurt shook his head and took Rachel's hand as they walked. "You girls are so strange. She's probably just jealous of you or something."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Right, because she's gorgeous and smart and has a job and isn't drunk at 2 in the afternoon gathering supplies for a treasure hunt. I'm sure she's totally jealous. Rachel: 1, Quinn: none."

Kurt shook his head again. "Forget about her. Let's just get our things for tomorrow."

He pulled her, pouting the entire way, down the street and into a store at the end of the block.

What they missed, however, was a young blonde man sitting at the table next to where they'd been speaking to Quinn. He lowered his newspaper, grinning mischievously; he'd heard their entire conversation. He stood up and hurried down the street in the opposite direction.

**XX**

Sam Evans burst through the doors of the small, rundown house he and his companions had been living in since they'd been on the run. "Guys are you here?" he called out into the house.

He headed for the kitchen where he found Santana Lopez and Noah Puckerman sitting at the kitchen table with a newspaper between them, each drinking a beer. "Guys! Guys! Guess what?"

The other two exchanged a look like they'd done this before. "This could take all day," Santana sighed. "Why don't you just tell us?"

"Fine," Sam relented. "I heard some kids talking in town about going on a treasure hunt."

"Wow, really?" Puck asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Were they six?" Santana asked.

Sam scowled. "No. We should follow them and keep the treasure for ourselves."

"A treasure hunt," Santana stated, making sure she'd heard him right.

Sam nodded excitedly. "Yeah." He yelped a moment later when Puck smacked him in the back of the head as he got up for another beer.

"Can you quit being an idiot?" Puck asked.

"I'm serious," Sam grumbled, his hand at the back of his head, rubbing at it gingerly. "They had a map from John Blackbeard and they're going to follow it in the morning."

Santana suddenly perked up, propping her feet up on the table and leaning back with her hands crossed over her stomach. "Blackbeard? Are you sure that's the name you heard?"

Sam nodded. "Positive."

"What's up?" Puck asked, tilting his chin her way.

"He's kind of infamous around here," she replied, her gaze thoughtful. "His treasure was never found."

"You're not seriously thinking about this," Puck stated, his eyes narrowing at her.

Santana shrugged one slender shoulder. "If it really is his, it could be millions in gold and diamonds."

"Here we go with the diamonds," Puck sighed. "And if it's not his?"

She shrugged again. "If it's not, then it's a day out of this stupid house. I'm tired of being cooped up in here."

"We're cooped up because we're wanted for robbery, remember?" Puck asked her. "Someone had to have her damn diamonds."

"That wasn't me," Sam clarified with a shake of his head.

"Thank you for the clarification," Santana replied dryly, rolling her eyes at him.

Puck was thoughtful for a moment. "I don't like it."

"Why not?" Santana asked.

Puck took a seat at the table and sipped his beer. "Well in case you missed the part about us being wanted, I should remind you that we should keep a low profile and you know how he gets with this kind of thing."

"I'll behave," Sam told him instantly. "I promise."

"You have to do exactly as we say," Santana told him.

"I will," Sam promised.

Santana set her gaze on Puck and watched him expectantly and he finally sighed. "Fine. We stay out of sight and we leave the minute I say."

"Deal," Santana agreed with a smirk, desperately trying to ignore the victory dance Sam was doing in the middle of the kitchen.

**XX**

**A.N. **Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed…


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